Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and star guard Jamal Murray expressed their frustration during the team's Game 2 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
Malone exploded on a referee in the first quarter. He was upset about a non-call after Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns drove through Murray on a layup. He ran straight onto the field and screamed in official Marc Davis' face. He did not receive a technical foul.
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Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone looks for answers during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena in Denver, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“I owe it to Jamal Murray, or anyone else in this situation, to express my opinion, to express my concerns and my disagreement,” Malone said of the incident. “That team over there in Minnesota, I have to give them credit. They're a really good team. They came out here and won two games. Tonight they knocked us off the field.”
Murray's frustrations carried over into the second quarter.
He launched a heat pack toward the court after a Towns layup. He was not called for a technical response, but the public commentator warned the building not to throw objects onto the field. Davis said he didn't know the Heat pack came from the bench and that Murray would have committed a technical foul.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was not happy with the incident.
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Jamal Murray, #27 of the Denver Nuggets, looks for a foul as he takes on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter during Game 2 of the Western Conference second round playoffs at Ball Arena on May 6, 2024 in Denver. (Matthieu Stockman/Getty Images)
“We tried to make them understand that there probably aren't a lot of fans in the building that have a heater pack,” Finch said. “So it probably had to come from the bench, which they thought made sense. But yeah, it's inexcusable and dangerous and, you know, I'm sure it was just a mistake and an oversight. I'm sure that 'There was nothing intentional about the refereeing, but I certainly can't allow that to happen.
Minnesota won the game 106-80. Towns and Anthony Edwards both chipped in with 27 points each.
The Timberwolves held the Nuggets to just 29 of 83 shooting – even without center Rudy Gobert.
“We had some really good defensive efforts this year,” Finch said. “This has to live up to the best of them.”
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, right, drives to the basket as Denver Nuggets forward Justin Holiday defends in the second half of Game 2 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series, on Monday, May 6, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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The Timberwolves took a 2-0 lead in the series and have now won six straight playoff games since their victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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